SEE IT: Young girl gives powerful speech to Charlotte city council about Keith Lamont Scott shooting: 'We are black people and we shouldn't feel like this'

A powerful message was delivered to Charlotte officials from one of the city's young voices.

A young girl named Zianna Oliphant climbed up on a step ladder to reach the podium and speak in front of the Charlotte, N.C., City Council about the recent police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott.

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"It's a shame that our fathers and mothers are killed and we can't see them anymore," she said as tears streamed down her cheeks and protesters encouraged her not to stop.

"It's a shame that we have to go to their graveyard and bury them. And we have tears. And we shouldn't have tears. We need our fathers and mothers to be by our side," Zianna said.

Zianna Oliphant, a young Charlotte City resident, breaks down in tears on the city council stand. (Charlotte Observer)

"We are black people and we shouldn't have to feel like this."

The girl gave her tearful remarks during a tense council meeting on Monday. Charlotte residents packed the public meeting and unleashed hours of furious criticism at officials and Mayor Jennifer Roberts for their handling of Scott's death.

Police fatally shot Scott in the parking lot of his apartment complex last week after cops say they saw him smoking pot and brandishing a gun. Scott's family dispute the police account, saying the disabled father of seven wasn't armed but reading a book while waiting for his son to get off the school bus.

Some speakers called for the resignation of Mayor Jennifer Roberts. (David T. Foster III/AP)

Protests erupted in Charlotte in the four days it took before police yielded to mounting pressure and released video of Scott's death. The two videos, which surfaced on Saturday, shed little light on what led to the fatal confrontation with cops or — whether Scott was holding a gun.

Residents spoke for two hours, some of whom demanded resignations from Roberts and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney.

"I'm here to ask for Chief Putney's and your resignation, mayor," said Speaker Henry Lee, according to the Charlotte Observer.

Audience members show support for speakers at the Charlotte City Council. (David T. Foster III/AP)

"The way it was handled, the secrecy, the lies. We don't deserve this. People are losing their lives, and you are backing these people with these policies. You don't deserve to be the mayor of this fine city. You are on verge of bringing this fine city to its knees — step down."

Roberts, who initially sided with Chief Putney in his resistance to release footage of Scott's shooting, wrote an op-ed calling the "lack of transparency and communication" about the investigation and the footage "not acceptable."

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"Our city must be more open, honest, and transparent in investigating police shootings if we are to restore trust," she wrote in the mea culpa.

The State Bureau of Investigation took over the probe into whether officer Brently Vinson, who is also black, was justified in shooting Scott.